Why Couldn't What Happened In Venezuela Happen Here?
"In the beginning it was some penalties here, a few confiscations there," Brimen recalled. "When the cronies were no longer willing to play ball, he just turned around and used another group of unscrupulous business leaders. By the time it was obvious to many, it was already too late."
Chavez actually took to the streets, leading crowds and ordering blanket confiscations "as if he was God," Brimen explained. The video shows footage of the president asking about building after building, and as he hears that each is privately owned, he declares, "Expropriate it! Expropriate it!"
The Venezuelan government even proceeded to censor the media. "Initially it was very subtle, just a fine here and a fine there, but once you accept that, then it's just a matter of degree," Brimen said. Opposition voices found themselves silenced by government force. Eventually, Chavez's orders "just flat out closed newspapers and TV channels." There is no voice of opposition in Venezuela today, he lamented.
"Government could never become this powerful and this tyrannical, had it not first been crony," Brimen said. Crony capitalism enables political movements to increase government on both sides — first for one group, and then for their opposition. At each step, government grows, and power becomes more firmly entrenched. Eventually, it can destroy an entire country.
So could it happen here? Absolutely.
"The piece of paper that we hold so dearly here, the U.S. Constitution, is just that, it's a piece of paper," Brimen warned. "The only thing keeping tyranny away in the U.S., the only thing keeping liberty alive, is that people understand it and that they themselves defend it."
The native Venezuelan said he was thankful for the opportunity to move to the United States, and will dedicate himself to defending its vision of liberty. "But if this country disintegrates in the same way, where are we going to go? What's the next beacon of hope?" Great question.
Check out the video on the next page!
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